When the fly is fully deployed, the tent has two vestibules, which provide additional gear storage and also help ventilate the tent in inclement weather. And in a stroke of design brilliance, a small loop sewn into the top of the fly makes it possible to roll up one half of the fly, exposing the full mesh canopy while ozark trail chair still providing shade and privacy. Temperatures ranged from the 50s at night to the 80s during the day. Jenni Gritters has been a science journalist for nearly a decade, and for the past six years she has been writing outdoor-focused gear guides, covering everything from yoga pants to backpacking tents to gaiters.
Nevertheless, it still comfortably accommodates four people, and it’s a roomy choice for two. This no-nonsense tent is intuitive to set up, has mesh on the top halves of two walls, includes a partial rain fly that’s easy to put on and stake out, and feels cheery inside and out. (We don’t recommend the smaller version of this tent for couples who might actually take it on the road; it was just too flimsy in our tests.) Also note that this tent does not come with its own groundsheet.
We like that this pack has a lot of pockets including a zipper that allows you to access the middle of the pack without opening the top. Includes Trekking pole attachment points, compression straps and a sleeping bag compartment. There are circumstances that are out of control (natural disasters, holidays, weather, etc) that may cause shipping postponements. While most packages will arrive on time, there may be circumstances and delays that our carriers may experience. For this reason, we do not guarantee the exact delivery time; the delivery issue is the responsibility of the shipping company.
It’s a solid option to keep in your toolbox, but for trail adventures, we’d want the battery-light warnings and red-light mode of our top pick. Weighing just over an ounce, this comfortable, adjustable, ultralight headlamp works great for running or other high-movement adventures. It’s not as bright as our top pick, though, and has more-limited battery life. As bright as our top pick for half the price, this headlamp weighs even less. But it’s not quite as comfortable to wear and lacks some useful features.
The Astro has only one LED, so it doesn’t have a red light or a separate spotlight, nor does it have a battery indicator (which means you can be caught without a light at a moment’s notice). Jenni also found the headstrap to be more rigid and itchy than that of the Spot, although the Astro was still more comfortable than most of the other headlamps she’s used. The Spot 400’s main button, which turns the headlamp on and changes its brightness, sits slightly higher than the top of the headlamp’s body (the 350’s button sat flush).
This shouldn’t be an issue in most situations, but if you’re headed into a particularly windy place or simply want some backup, we suggest picking up four extra tent stakes at your local outdoor shop or online. These inexpensive stakes are comparable to the ones that accompany the Mineral King 3; these slightly more expensive stakes will serve you well in any car-camping terrain. Finding a small, light tent is the logical approach when you’re backpacking. But with car camping—the industry term for what most people consider just camping—you’ll likely be parking next to your campsite and unloading.
On a long run at night, Jenni was able to use the Bindi on its brightest setting to see through the pitch darkness in a rainstorm with complete clarity. That brightest setting is 200 lumens, which is half of the Spot’s lumen count. The Bindi’s light cast about 40 meters into the distance—not as far as the Spot but still far enough for her to navigate safely. The Astro can use Black Diamond’s add-on rechargeable battery, and it also offers the same three-year warranty and has Brightness Memory mode (when you turn it on, it reverts to the setting you used last). The Astro weighs 1.5 ounces, which makes it one of the lightest headlamps we’ve ever tested (only the Petzl Bindi, our running pick, is lighter).
This small improvement is surprisingly helpful when you need to find the button quickly with your finger. Pushing both buttons at once for two seconds activates the Spot’s lock mode, which prevents the light from accidentally turning on in your bag—this is one of the few headlamps we’ve tested with such a mode. The Spot also has a PowerTap function; find the small starburst icon on the side of the light and touch it to immediately bump the power up to max, and then touch it again to revert to low. Make sure to let a friend or family member know what you’re doing and where you’re going.
It also turns off at the two-hour mark, in case your kid forgets. The control mechanism on the Wiz is a bit complicated, but our kid testers didn’t mind clicking through the rainbow colors as they figured it out. Although the Wiz has only 30 lumens, that should be good enough for most kids (plus, they won’t be able to blind each other—or you—with the light). With access to the Ozark Trail available year-round, hikers will need to prepare differently for each season. Ozark springs see a lot of rain and varied temperatures; Ozark summers tend to be hot, muggy, and wet; Ozark winters can drop below freezing. Wet weather is common to the Ozark climate, especially in late spring through summer, and fosters a breeding ground for bugs, mosquitos, and ticks.